For all the changes of late at Chargers Park, one wrinkle that isn’t in the works is a move to a dual-threat quarterback. Philip Rivers, to be sure, is still the man. It goes beyond Rivers, though. To hear Tom Telesco, neither Mike McCoy nor he is convinced that dual-threat quarterbacks running the read option are great bets to survive full seasons.

“So many quarterbacks coming out have been running that in college, so it may get to that point,” Telesco told me, “but like Mike said, once teams see that in this league, and you figure out how to defense it, which you can, this league is so fast that it probably isn’t going to be successful long term.

“But we’ll see,” he said. “We’ll see.”

As impressive as Colin Kaepernick’s rise to the Super Bowl was, it wasn’t a great test of durability, as not until San Francisco’s 10th game did the NFL sophomore make his first start. What’s more, Kaepernick worked behind the NFL’s best offensive line, and Greg Roman’s creative use of the pistol formation, far from an NFL staple, had a surprise element to it that will be reduced this year.

Then again, Kaepernick showed a knack for avoiding direct hits. And Russell Wilson, the dual-threat rookie who led the Seahawks to the divisional playoff round, started 18 games and appeared to be tougher on defenses than they were on him.

Expect Telesco and McCoy to be open-minded about the dual-threat possibilities. Remember, it was McCoy who reconfigured Denver’s offense around Tim Tebow.

But as the Chargers scout college quarterbacks, whose draft-eligible ranks in future years will include a growing number of dual-threat stars – “with the 36th pick of the 2015 draft, the Chargers select Marcus Mariota, University of Oregon,” – durability will be a big part of the evaluation. Bear in mind that Rivers, a pure pocket passer who won't win many foot races, has made every start since he got the job in 2006.

“You can find them,” Telesco said of the dual-threat quarterbacks, “but the problem is, for 16 games, I don’t know – that’s a lot of hits, and a lot of high-speed hits at this level. Robert Griffin is a great passer, too. He’s not just a read-option guy. That’s the difference with him. He’s accurate, he’s got a big arm, he’s a great thrower. But to do the read option for 16 games in this league -- you never say never, but it’s going to be hard.”